Somerset Cricket Club?s chairman of Cup Match selectors, Anthony Bailey, has hit back at criticism over his team?s failure to capitalise on an outstanding first day?s play and deliver the killer blow on the second which would have landed the West Enders a third successive win on home turf in the new millennium.

Having declared their first innings overnight at 337 for seven, Somerset put themselves in a commanding position to seize an outright victory with ample time on the second day to bowl the challengers out.

But, unlike on the first day, the St. George?s batsmen proved equal to the task and withstood all Somerset could throw their way to pull off an improbable draw ? thanks mainly to a disciplined and defiant innings from Clay Smith who went on to become the first batsman in Cup Match history to score three tons and the first St. George?s player to score a century at Somerset since Mark Ray in 1998.

Smith?s knock also offset a chanceless and unbeaten first innings knock of 160 from the bat of Saleem Mukuddem which put the champions firmly in the driver?s seat.

?I don?t think anything really went wrong. I think what happened was St.George?s put their heads down and started to apply themselves,? said Bailey yesterday.

?We tried a couple of things but couldn?t penetrate as much as we would have liked to to. And for them (St. George?s) their veterans came through. Charlie (Marshall) and Clay (Smith) stayed there and their approach was totally different.

?They didn?t come out there trying to win the game. Their approach was more or less ?let?s not try and lose the game?. And I don?t think we did anything different than we did on the first day.?

On the opening day of play, St.George?s encountered a well-oiled Somerset team which were on top of every facet of their game.

The champions dismissed their opponents in only 32.3 overs, some 35 minutes prior to lunch.

Bailey defended Somerset?s decision to bat on after crossing St.George?s paltry first innings total, the East Enders? lowest in the West End since 1991.

?Some people might think we stayed in too long and that we should have declared earlier and sent them back in to bat. But you really just don?t know because Somerset?s wicket always produces a lot of runs, especially on the second day. It?s always going to be difficult for any team to try and bowl another team out twice in two days,? added Bailey.

With Mukuddem just 26 runs shy of skipper Janeiro Tucker?s record (186), many felt the South African born player should have been given the chance to eclipse his captain?s mark. However, the decision to declare overnight was a collective one made by the entire team on Thursday night, according to Bailey.

?Either way you look at it . . . it was a situation that had no real answer,? he added. ?It was about the game and not one individual. Had he (Mukuddem) batted and broke the record, the next argument would have been why did Somerset bat so long? But in the end I think the decision which was made was the correct one.?

Bailey, however, agreed Somerset?s seam bowlers should have remained on the ball on the second day for longer spells.

Diminutive fast bowler Corey Hill proved to be a menace on the first day, ripping through the St.George?s? top order in rapid succession. The Bailey?s Bay stalwart grabbed four for 40 with the new ball, strutting in from the northern end of the ground assisted by a generous cross-wind which provided extra sideways movement in the air. He returned for a second spell later in the innings to demolish the challengers? tail.

Hill?s club team-mate Dennis Pilgrim, one of three Bay players in Somerset?s team, took two first innings wickets for eight runs from only three overs.

?We had all day to try and bowl them out and it was unfortunate. But I think the seamers could have bowled longer. What we tried to do was mix it up a bit more with a seam and spin combination to keep the batsmen guessing as opposed to bowling seam at both ends,? Bailey explained.

?It was chance we took and they (St.George?s) weren?t scoring fast. Even though they got the runs (to avoid an innings defeat) we still managed to get a few chances here and there but just weren?t able to capitalise on them.?

After his first match at the helm of the team, skipper Tucker received a ringing endorsement from Bailey, though many argued the skipper let St. George?s off the hook by taking too long to complete overs and wasted precious time returning to the field following the scheduled water breaks.

?I think Tucker did a good job on his first Cup Match. He listened to some of the team?s more senior players around him and he had a game plan ? which was good ? and he stuck to it,? said Bailey.

?I think his decisions were very firm and he managed to adhere to them. And from here I think he will only improve with each passing year.?